T.F.M. Pages

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

JP ROSS FLY RODS - JP Ross On The New BLACK JACK Blank

If there is one thing that I've learned from and about JP Ross of JP Ross Fly Rods is that he's always working on that "Next Thing". His latest offering is the Black Jack which is a five piece 8' foot 5/6 weight carbon silica hybrid blank that has a lot of possibilities for the traveling angler or someone that just wants to have a easy to carry along for the ride fly rod behind the seat at all times.

The other day JP Ross sent an email that provides quite a bit of
background on where this blank design came from and the process of it's
creation.

JP Ross wrote... "As
many of you know, I have been fascinated with materials for many years.
Specifically the use of different materials in composites as well as
metallurgy which I use in my day job in Electronics Manufacturing.

As
I get older I spend more time with the loser 40 and 50 years old's that
envy the flat brim trout bums that are out there living the life I once
lived. We have responsibility, we can't be out there every day fishing. The fathers and husbands that I am friends with inevitably use their
work travel one way or another to try and at least explore some fishing
spot they have never fished before. So in these conversations, everyone
said I need to make a five or six weight that can pack small to put inside their
luggage or under the seat of their car or truck to try and fill the
void when their schedule gives them a free hour in between life.

I
love multi piece rods, and when i started my fly shop 20 years ago, my
first rod was a Thomas & Thomas Vagabond seven piece and I loved that
rod. There is something about the case, and putting the parts together
that makes me feel like James Bond putting together some secret weapon
on a special mission.

When I used the
technology that we have in the five piece MUIR 7' three weight and put it in the five piece Black Jack 8'6" 5/6 weight, there were a couple issues.

First, it
didn't cast great, it was heavy, and the butt diameter was huge. When
you really flexed the rod the hoop of the rod would go oval from stress
and the rod would work apart.

I knew I had to
use technology, and this was an opportunity to use the
ferrule weight to our advantage. We had to increase the integrity of
the ferrules, make the butt diameter small enough for a wood reel seat,
and make the rod cast really well. So what I did was blend carbon and
glass in the fabric matrix and came up with the Black Jack.

The
physical weight of the Black Jack blank is 2.2 ounces, which is quite
light for a five piece blank that is primarily glass. However, the tip
over butt ferrules are extremely strong. In fact, we test the rod naked
without ferrule wraps and it passes the "Quality Inspection" test every
time.

The cool factor is that a majority of
the two ounces of weight is in the mid and tip because it is multi piece with ferrules. This adds a wicked cool factor to casting
this rod. The rod has physical tip weight, which means when you cast
its medium action, it has momentum and inertia just like a bamboo rod
does. You simply move the rod in its arc and the rod casts itself.
This tip weight also slows recovery speed which is why this rod is
essentially 100% a floating line and small fly rod. Just like a bamboo
rod would be.

I personally believe that we
have made something different. We have really made a rod that has a
soul, because in our opinion the rod gives you great feedback, unlike
light fast glass, or fast graphite. It also is not so slow and squishy
that you have to compensate in your casting stroke to make it work, like
you do with old glass.

The Black Jack created its own segment in fly
rods because of its Carbon Silica Hybrid technology and because we did
it in a five piece. The design criteria around the rod "worked". It would
not work as a seven weight for bass, and it would be too much like graphite
in a three or four weight. That's why it is unique and also extremely
affordable as well."

The Black Jack is offered in several blank options as well as a finished fly rod.

Now through April 28th, 2017, use code "SPRINGSALE" for 15% off your order.